1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to a magnifying device and more particularly to a magnifying lens attachment for a hand held implement such as nail clippers, cutters, tweezers, pliers and the like.
2. Description of the Related Art
It is known that a magnifying lens may be attached to a hand held instrument in order to provide the user with an enlarged image of the object being worked on. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,680,210 discloses a nail clipper device having a protective magnifying element which magnifies the blades and nail during the clipping operation; U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,956,915 and 5,546,658 disclose nail clipping devices which include an enclosure having a magnifying zone for magnifying the clipper jaws and a fingernail during the clipping operation; U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,263,754 and 5,358,297 disclose tweezers having a magnifying lens which may be positioned over the tip of the tweezers in order to assist the user in sighting the foreign object to be removed by the tweezers; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,398,800 discloses an adjustable magnifying device that may be clamped on a hand held implement.
While these devices can provide a user with enlarged images of an object being worked on, it is well known that magnifying lenses only provide optimum, clear enlarged images when an object is viewed through the magnifying lens at certain angles and distances. For instance, the spatial relationship between the user's eye, the magnifying lens, and the object being worked on can significantly affect the clarity of the object being magnified. In addition, viewing an object through a magnifying lens when the lens is at an angle to either the user's eye or the object can create blurring and distortion in the image. In order to optimize the clarity of the enlarged image, a magnifying lens must be movable to a distance and angle from the user's eye that provides the clearest image. Often, known magnifying attachments do not provide the wide range of adjustability and maneuverability that is required in order to place the magnifying lens at the optimum position for magnification. Furthermore, known magnifying attachments which do provide for adjustability are often quite cumbersome and therefore, are difficult to attach to a hand held implement.
Accordingly, there is a need for a magnifying attachment for a hand held implement that provides for a wide range of adjustability and maneuverability so that the enlarged image of the object being magnified is as clear as possible.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an adjustable magnifying attachment that may be adjusted in many different directions after the attachment has been mounted on a hand held implement.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide an adjustable magnifying attachment that may be easily mounted on a hand held implement without the need for a complicated and cumbersome mounting structure.